Bears go into the salvage business

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, November 1, 1995

BERKELEY - What else is left for a Cal football team that must play out the string? What can the Bears look forward to, now that a bowl game, or a winning season, is no longer a possibility?

After Saturday's 33-16 loss to UCLA, the Cal players maintained an upbeat, company line-like presence. But no amount of rationalization will do away with the fact that the Bears are guaranteed a third losing season in four years.

"It's tough," said senior safety Dante DePaola. "In the beginning of the season, I'd think you're crazy if you'd said that we're not going to a bowl game. For me, it hurts. These are my last three collegiate games."

The preseason euphoria, with the Bears ranked in the Top 25 by several magazines, has disintegrated. Cal (2-6) not only won't contend for a bowl, it is likely to finish the season with its worst record in nine years.

Coach Keith Gilbertson, in his fourth season at Cal, has been under fire since two early losses to San Diego State and Fresno State. But despite the coaching staff's uncertain status, the players say they won't be playing for the coaches' jobs.

"So we're not playing to save their jobs. We play football for the enjoyment of the game."

While the enjoyment of the game is the only thing left for the graduating seniors, the 17 starters returning next season could use the remaining games to enhance their skills.

"It's kind of hard to think about next year right now," said quarterback Pat Barnes, whose inexperience has been a significant cause of his inconsistent performances.

"The biggest thing for us to do now is to win the rest of our games. The experience I'm getting is helping me - as is the case with everybody who's coming back."

On offense, the Bears will lose Uwaezuoke, running back Reynard Rutherford and center Ben Lynch to graduation. But there are adequate replacements for those players. On defense, the only full-time starters Cal will lose are DePaola and cornerback Je'Rod Cherry.

Although the youthful Bears have been a disappointment, Gilbertson said he has not been dissatisfied with their progress.

"When you play as many young guys as we do, they'll do some of those young things," Gilbertson said. "The most important thing is we have to mature. . . . The experience could benefit the offensive line, (and receivers) Bobby Shaw, Na'il Benjamin. And Tony Gonzalez, our tight end, has another year under his belt after playing about half of last year.

"The defensive front are all back, all the (line)backers, and (defensive backs) John Penton, (Kevin) Devine. Experience-wise, we're getting an awful lot out of this year."

But Gilbertson said he'll resist the temptation of playing backup underclassmen at the expense of the graduating seniors. More important, the freshmen who are redshirting this season will remain that way, preserving their four years of eligibility.

The Bears have played all season with two tailbacks - Rutherford and sophomore Tarik Smith. A third, Brandon Willis, is sitting out this year. Ryan Longwell is handling both place-kicking and punting this season, allowing freshman Ignacio Brache to redshirt.

Besides, the Bears' seniors aren't quite ready to pass the baton.

"I wouldn't be happy with that," DePaola said of the possibility of diminished playing time. "There's still three games left. It's not next year yet."

Losing season or not, the Cal players seem convinced that motivation won't be a problem for the remaining three games, even though their next two opponents - Washington State and Arizona State - both have struggled all season and are headed nowhere.

"I think sometimes you get lost with the big picture," Uwaezuoke said. "We can't always worry about the whole season. What's important is for us to realize that winning a game is still a positive thing.

"Some of you don't realize that we play football because we love the sport. We're not gonna quit just because we can't go to a bowl game. There's much more to it than that." &lt;